What Seattle looks like on Memorial Day weekend

Ahhh, Memorial Day weekend. It’s the traditional start of summer, when you fire up the grill, hit the beach and do some hiking.

That goes for Seattle, too. It just looks a little different here. With the usual Mayvember forecast on tap for the weekend – rain, clouds, nothing above 65 degrees – here’s a look at how we do the holiday, compared with everyone else:

Photo: Kraig Scarbinsky / Getty Images

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Oh sure, we have our dose of summery fun too on Memorial Day. It just looks different.
Here's what everyone else will look like enjoying the beach this weekend.

Oh sure, we have our dose of summery fun too on Memorial Day. It just looks different.
Here's what everyone else will look like enjoying the beach this weekend.

Photo: Kraig Scarbinsky / Getty Images

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What Seattle looks like enjoying the beach. (Matthews Beach).

What Seattle looks like enjoying the beach. (Matthews Beach).

Photo: DAN DELONG / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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What everyone else looks like at their weekend music festival.

What everyone else looks like at their weekend music festival.

Photo: Simone Joyner / Getty Images

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What Seattle looks like. (Photo: A musician uses a tarp to protect his contrabass from the rain at Folklife).

What Seattle looks like. (Photo: A musician uses a tarp to protect his contrabass from the rain at Folklife).

What Memorial Day weekend usually feels like for Seattle, which has its upsides, such as ...

What Memorial Day weekend usually feels like for Seattle, which has its upsides, such as ...

Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP/Getty Images

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... no crowds at the park.

... no crowds at the park.

Photo: Mint Images - Michael Hanson / Getty Images

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And lots of use for your four-season, all-purpose clothes.

And lots of use for your four-season, all-purpose clothes.

Photo: Adam Hester / Getty Images

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But best of all, Memorial Day weekend in Seattle means you'll rarely feel guilty about missing out on a sunny day, when you really want to sit inside and watch some mindless blockbusters.

But best of all, Memorial Day weekend in Seattle means you'll rarely feel guilty about missing out on a sunny day, when you really want to sit inside and watch some mindless blockbusters.

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What Seattle looks like on Memorial Day weekend

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Looking forward to warm weather? Better read our guide now on how to tell when it’s hot in Seattle, which details the ways Seattle soaks up and can’t handle heat (it originally appeared here, during that brief interlude when it was actually 80 degrees):

Photo: GILBERT W. ARIAS

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... the buzz about an 80-degree day began days ago, with giddy reporters, facebookers, tweeters and bloggers frothing about 80 degrees. (Guilty).

... the buzz about an 80-degree day began days ago, with giddy reporters, facebookers, tweeters and bloggers frothing about 80 degrees. (Guilty).

Photo: GILBERT W. ARIAS

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... all the yogis, slackliners, Beersbee jocks and other creative lawn loungers come out at Green Lake.

... all the yogis, slackliners, Beersbee jocks and other creative lawn loungers come out at Green Lake.

Photo: DAN DELONG / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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...you want to join them but can't find your one pair of shorts buried at the bottom of your winter clothes.

...you want to join them but can't find your one pair of shorts buried at the bottom of your winter clothes.

Photo: Muriel de Seze

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...you find those shorts, see that your skin looks like this, and wonder if you should go out in public.

...you find those shorts, see that your skin looks like this, and wonder if you should go out in public.

Photo: Carsten Snejbjerg / Carsten Snejbjerg

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... your feet also look pretty gnarly, after being neglected and hidden in boots for months.

... your feet also look pretty gnarly, after being neglected and hidden in boots for months.

Photo: Chuck Eckert / Getty Images/age fotostock RM

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… you notice how pasty you are, which is OK because you'll blend in with much of Seattle. But you can't find the sunscreen.

… you notice how pasty you are, which is OK because you'll blend in with much of Seattle. But you can't find the sunscreen.

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... you end up looking like this because you hadn't seen sun for so long, and you couldn't find the sunscreen.

... you end up looking like this because you hadn't seen sun for so long, and you couldn't find the sunscreen.

Photo: Kelvin Murray / Getty Images

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...people start complaining that it's ''too hot.''

...people start complaining that it's ''too hot.''

Photo: ELAINE THOMPSON / Associated Press

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...there's talk of a ''heat wave,'' when it's 78 degrees.

...there's talk of a ''heat wave,'' when it's 78 degrees.

Photo: Bjorn Kindler / Getty Images

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... people say the sun is ''so intense'' (because it's not cloudy).

... people say the sun is ''so intense'' (because it's not cloudy).

Photo: MIKE URBAN / SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

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... there's a run on fans. And not the little ones.

... there's a run on fans. And not the little ones.

Photo: Tom Williams / Roll Call

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...the only ones swimming in the lakes are dogs and crazy young people.

...the only ones swimming in the lakes are dogs and crazy young people.

Photo: ELAINE THOMPSON / Associated Press

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... you want to cool off at an outdoor pool (few in Seattle), but all you can find is a ''spray park'' (many in Seattle). Pictured is Pratt Park.

... you want to cool off at an outdoor pool (few in Seattle), but all you can find is a ''spray park'' (many in Seattle). Pictured is Pratt Park.

Photo: Dan DeLong / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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… you go to Alki (pictured) or Golden Gardens at the exact same time as the rest of Seattle.

… you go to Alki (pictured) or Golden Gardens at the exact same time as the rest of Seattle.

Photo: Joe Dyer/seattlepi.com

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...the line at Molly Moon's goes out the door, down the street and around the block. And you really want that Scout mint. (Photo: Angelo DeSantis, Flickr).

...the line at Molly Moon's goes out the door, down the street and around the block. And you really want that Scout mint. (Photo: Angelo DeSantis, Flickr).

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angeloangelo/7314961832/

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... the wait for a table on the deck at Maximilien in Pike Place Market is an hour.

... the wait for a table on the deck at Maximilien in Pike Place Market is an hour.